Old Friends
by Secret Ninja Plushie
Summary: Everyone’s coming back to Konoha village for their class reunion! But when a mysterious 'black ninja', with no destinguishing clan markings at all, attacks Sakura the festivities end. HinaSaku, don't like it then don't read it.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Old Friends

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or any other Naruto-verse characters. I just borrow them and make them do my evil bidding (insert evil laughter here)

**Summary: **Everyone's coming back to Konoha village for their class reunion!

**Rating: **PG-13 ish? I guess that'd be teen….

**Author Notes: **Well I started this when I'd only seen about maybe 1 thru 40 episodes of naruto, which in reality is barely scratching the surface of this great and awesome anime! So yeah….. I'll be making it up as I go because I'm really lame that way. Enjoy I guess, and erm…. Leave feedback so I can live. Starving artist/writer that I am! Also this is gonna be HinaSaku, so if you don't like girl-on-girl then I'm sorry. Don't bother reading.

Why was this so difficult? Couldn't two old friends meet up and talk about their new lives now? Hyuuga Hinata could not understand this.

_It's just going to be a reunion of old friendships.'_ She told herself, _'It's not like you'll see someone you were involved with.'_ Ha, Hinata couldn't help laughing at that, if she had ever been involved with someone back in Shinobi School it was to do homework, exchange notes, or to complete assignments.

But there was one person who she had felt strongly for. If only she'd had the courage to tell them sooner!

'Sakura has probably been with Sasuke for years now. No use in dreaming of things that are impossible.'

It had been several years since they had all become Jonin and moved on to bigger and better jobs. Hinata, although gaining a confidence that she had lacked in school, had lost some of her old contacts. So when she had received an invitation from her old Shinobi school in the Konoha village where she used to live, she decided she would go and see what everyone was up to these days.

And this was how she had gotten here. Lost. In a forest she was sure was near her old village!

"Why don't I remember any landmarks?" she asked herself irritably, stopping on a tree branch to look around, and sighing when she couldn't see any recognizable signs, "I'm lost." She admitted, sitting back on her heels and resting in the shade of the tree.

Her body, having relaxed, tensed as she heard the rustling of leaves and branches. Her legs were ready to spring from the branch she rested on, when a familiar blonde someone jumped from another tree to land on the branch she was currently about to jump off.

In her initial surprise at seeing Naruto in so long Hinata made a half jump, slipping off the tree, but landing in a crouch at it's base. "Naruto!" she exclaimed in surprise, after having regained her breath, "Hinata-San!" Naruto grinned, jumping from the tree and landing beside her. "Are you here for the class reunion too?" he asked, Hinata could see his face clearly now.

He had three long and thing scars across his face in a diagonal slash. They were white and very visible against he complexion, his blue eyes-although they sparkled with delight at seeing her now- were somewhat duller and one could tell they had seen much tragedy and hurt. His hair was a bit longer, but not too long, to the point of being a bit all-over-the-place messy.

"Yes, I've come for the reunion, I thought I might see how everyone's doing these days." Hinata grinned, almost forcing it to show. Reunions were okay, but not when some people were there. "But right now I'm just lost." She sighed in annoyance.

"Ha, that's okay, I didn't recognize these woods either, but I got to the village okay so I was walking when I ran into you!" Naruto explained, to which Hinata dryly replied, "Walking, huh?"

"Whoa, I think I liked shy Hinata better!" he was joking now, and Hinata smacked him in the arm, "Please, I am so over you by now, Naruto!"

And it went on like this as they made their way back to Konoha village. Hinata asked about Sasuke, to which she got a full report on 'the great Sasuke's' deeds, but when he asked about Sakura Naruto avoided the subject by asking if she wanted to get some ramen to which she declined, instead finding the place her old Sensei Iruka had set up for her and all the others who were traveling. Apparently she was sharing a room, but her roommate hadn't shown up yet. Hinata hoped it wasn't Ino, the girl had been obnoxious enough in school, she had yet to see her now.

Hinata unpacked her stuff and changed from her travel-worn clothes and into something more comfortable. Deciding to explore that new forest she and Naruto had just come through.

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As she walked through the forest, Hinata found herself wondering more and more about Sakura. Why had Naruto avoided the question? Why had he not told her?

She tried to remember the look on his face when she had mentioned Sakura's name, perhaps she could read the look on his face, but it was no use, she couldn't read anything except and apologetic sadness.

Hinata's musings were interrupted by the rustling bushes. At first she thought it might just be Naruto playing a trick on her. But then the rustling stopped, _'Must've been an animal…'_ she thought to herself, continuing to walk when the rustling sound was heard again and out of the bushes behind her came a dark-clad ninja, it rushed her with katana raised.

"Hinata, no!" Cried a familiar voice, and Hinta looked up to see Sakura stagger onto the small pathway.

Her distraction cost her dearly, as the ninja slashed the sword through the air, severing her neck. "No!" Sakura screamed, dropping to her knees, watching as the blood spurting everywhere turned into smoke, and when it cleared two logs fell to the ground where Hinata had been standing. The dark ninja looked around, he had been fooled by the replacement jutsu technique. He looked behind him, he must have been a rookie to be caught off guard by that. As his head jerked this way and that in search of the disappearing foe a kunai flashed through the foliage, sinking into the exposed neck of the dark ninja who gave a startled cry, dropping to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Hinata jumped from her hiding place, running to Sakura who was trembling slightly, "Sa-Sakura-San?" she asked quietly, a piece of her shyness creeping back into her at the sight of her old classmate. Sakura looked up, making Hinata gasp in surprise, she looked scary. Her eyes were dark and sunken in from hunger and exhaustion, her face had splatters of blood trailed across it. Sakura gripped her right arm, "Hinata-Chan…" she breathed before passing out and falling to the dirt. Hinata saw then why Sakura had been gripping her arm, it looked like a pin cushion with all the shuiken and kunai sticking out of it.

Right then she rushed to the fallen Jonin, hoisting her over her shoulder-careful not to push the kunai and other weapons deeper into her arm- and taking off towards the village. She would leave the body of the dark ninja and come back for it as soon as she got Sakura to safety.

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"I don't know what kind of ninja he is…." Iruka was saying, they had unmasked the black ninja, but there was no headband proclaiming what nation they were from, "And you say he wasn't prepared for your replacement technique?"

"No, he didn't know what I had done, he dropped all his defenses in looking for me." Hinata explained, still puzzled over the whole thing. "H-How is Sakura-San doing?" she asked timidly, absentmindedly grinding her toe into the floor. It was amazing for even bringing up her old classmate made her shy again.

"She's asleep, but our healers managed to clean her up quite well, there's not even a scar where the kunai punctured her skin!" Iruka told her, patting her on the head, "Why don't you go watch over her?"

Hinata nodded dumbly, entering Sakura's room, vaguely noticing that it was hers also. So Sakura was her roommate. She pulled a small stool up to Sakura's bedside, resting her elbows on the bed.

Sakura didn't look so scary now, her eyes were closed and didn't look so hollow, and the blood was washed off of her face, her hair seemed to be all over the pillow. And Hinata realized with a throb of her heart what sharing rooms might mean. Sakura had been her secret love. Sure Naruto had been there. but when she had seen him pining after Sakura... It had killed the small spark that had every existed for him.

_"Why is Sakura always going for Sasuke? It makes me sick!" Naruto complained, he hadn't realized Hinata was behind him, and he jumped when she cleared her throat quietly, "Wh-what's wrong with her liking S-Sasuke?" she asked. "What's wrong with him?! He's just... That guy bugs me!" Naruto practically shouted, grumbling as he walked away. _

_'What's so great about Sakura? What does she have that I don't?' she thought to herself, thinking of Sakura's good qualities._

_"Well, she has pretty pink hair..." she ticked off one on her finger, "And she is pretty smart," that was two, "She's very nice, but not to Naruto," that was three, "and helpful, like that onetime she helped me on that technique I wasn't getting," now four, "she just seems so much better at everything..." Hinata stopped counting, realizing with a jolt that Naruto was right in wanting to be with Sakura... because she did too!_

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Sakura slowly opened her eyes, feeling someone else was in the room with her. She sat up, seeing Hinata with her head on the edge of her bed. 'Had she stayed and watched me sleep?' she wondered, smiling at the devotion the Hyuuga girl showed to almost anyone. 'She's so sweet...' still smiling, Sakura brushed a lock of Hinata's deep violet hair out of her face, eliciting a shiver and a soft smile to come to Hinata's lips. Sakura found herself staring at those lips.

'No!' she shook her head to clear it, 'You've had a rough time as it is, no need to add more heartbreak to that hardship!' she told herself firmly, 'Besides, everyone knows Hinata likes Naruto...'

A moan came from Hinata, and Sakura jerked her hand away from her face, "Sa-Sakura-San?" She asked sleepily, "Y-you're awake?"

"Good morning, Hinata-Chan!" Sakura said, with forced bubliness, "It was nice of you to keep watch over me!" Hinata blushed deeply, twisting her fingers out of shyness.

"It's o-okay Sakura-San, would you like some breakfast?" Hinata asked, getting up from her position by the bed and offering a hand to help Sakura out of bed.

"Yes, please, I'm starved!" Sakura exclaimed, remembering her empty stomache, "C'mon, Hinata, I'll treat you to ramen!"

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End chapter one, How'd ya like it kiddies? review and MAYBE I'll write another chapter on why Sakura's so heartbroken and crap like that. Sound good? The Secret Ninja Plushie


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, or any characters from the anime/manga. Sometimes I wish that I did.

**Chapter 2: **Sakura's Story

**Author Note:** So, thanks for the comments that encouraged me to write some more! I know it's been a very LONG time, but I hope you can say it was worth the wait! Enjoy, and please leave some feedback soz I can live and make my writing better and crap like that! Also, I'd just like to remind everyone that I've only ever seen up to the episode when Haku made his ice mirrors and Zabuza died and such. So I guess this is more an AU fic than anything since (now that I have the info from my sis) Sasuke does not go evil in my world. He just gets to be a bigger jerk is all.

* * *

_Maybe ramen wasn't such a good idea afterall..._ Sakura thought miserably, stirring the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks in the heavy silence that had descended upon the two old classmates. The pink-haired Jonin risked a small glance up at the Hyuuga girl. She was still staring at Sakura with that quizzical look, like she was some sort of puzzle to be figured out.

"Hinata, please stop looking at me that way?" it was more a question than an order. All the same, Hinata turned pink and lowered her whole head to stare into her own ramen.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-San, I d-didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!" she apologized, in her lap her hands were twisting. It looked painful, "I just... Well you were attacked by that ninja and nobody knows why, or where he came from, and no one will tell me about how you're life has been these past few years..." She said all this without pause for breath.

Sakura sighed, putting both hands on the table, as if bracing herself, "I don't know who attacked me or why." she said calmly, "As to why no one has told you about my life? No one except Naruto knows what's really happened, and Sasuke if he even deems to remember it." she said this last part with bitterness, and gritted her teeth. She didn't want to remember the past, to go back to painful times, she wanted to move foreward and forget.

"Oh..." Hinata said, rather lamely. Sakura could see she really did want to know and really did care, not like everyone else would be- just asking to get the question out of the way and get to the great stuff they had done.

Sakura sighed again and her hands curled into fists and relaxed again, "Hinata, if I tell you, you understand that I don't want any of this getting around?" the Hyuuga girl nodded vigorously, lifting her head to look at Sakura again, "A few years ago when we all finally became Chunin, the three of us went on a mission, one of our last before we split up to do our separate things." here Sakura paused to take a deep breath, "We had all been up-tight and on edge, so Sasuke and I... relieved some tension..." Hinata's eyes got very big here and Sakura almost chuckled at how round they were, "Naruto said we had crossed a line and they got into a pretty bad fight. I jumped in the middle and got battered up quite a bit. Naruto never forgave himself for that, and Sasuke just stopped talking to either of us. And after that things just haven't... well they haven't exactly gone well for me." The next few moments were spent in more silence. Hinata knew Sakura wasn't telling the whole story, and Skura could see it in her face she was hurt that the pink-haired Jonin hadn't tusted her with any more.

"Th-thank you for trusting me with this, Sakura-San! I will never tell a soul!" Hinata promised, placing both hands over Sakura's in a moment of nerve. Despite having hinted at hard times, her hands felt soft and smooth. Both Jonin blushed and looked away.

"I-I'm not hungry anymore..." Sakura said, as they pulled their hands away from eachother, "Do you mind if I maybe step out for--"

"Oh, no!" Hinata hurried to reassure her, "I've lost my appitite as well, but I feel so bad that you bought me a whole bowl of ramen and I hardly touched any of it!" Sakura smiled and assured the Hyuuga that it was alright, and tried to make a excuse to leave, but Hinata proved to be stickier than glue and followed Sakura wherever she went, a smiling, silent companion, offering the occasional pleasantry- 'Isn't it beautiful out, Sakura?', or, 'Wow, that dress would look lovely on you!'- Sakura would have been annoyed, except for she did enjoy the girl's company, and it was different to be around someone so happy rather than what she was used to.

_Oh, Hinata, I don't know why I never became better friends with you! You seem to make everything seem okay..._

"Sakura, Hinata!" Someone called to them from down the road, The figure ran to catch up with them. It was Shikamaru, "You two... You don't know how much of a bother it was to come and find you! The ninja you found has dissappeared!" The two Jonins looked at one another in astonishment, each thinking the same thing, Hinata had killed him. How could he have dissappeared?

"When did it happen?" Hinata asked sharply, surprising the other two, who had always known her as shy and nice.

"Iruka had just stepped out to find a scroll and when he came back into the room the body was gone, just the clothes and some ashes were left." Shikamaru sighed scratching his head.

"Ash? Was the body burned?" asked Sakura, bitting her bottom lip.

"No, if the body was burned the clothes wouldn't be left behind and the bed would have caught fire too!" Hinata pointed out, and the two hastily made thier goodbyes to Shikamaru and rushed off to see the sight themselves.

--

"The ashes fell into a sort of pattern," Iruka explained to them as they sat by the bedside looking down at the ninja's clothes and the ashes, which did form a peculiar symbol on the front of the pillow case where the ninja's head had been, "it doesn't resemble any of the nations symbols, and it doesn't match the symbol of any known gangs and terrorists."

"It looks like a coffin..." Sakura murmured, fingers hovering inches above the ashes. She didn't see the puzzled look Iruka gave her, or the sad look Hinata had.

"Anyways, I thought we had better notify you, in case you knew anything about it, otherwise we'll keep studying!" Iruka saw the two girls out of the room and they both walked to their bedroom in silence.

"You've seen so much death, Sakura." it was an assumption, but the way that Sakura flinched assured Hinata that she had hit the mark, or close to it.

"Ninja usually do see alot of death." Sakura countered, becoming snappy in her attempt to defend herself.

"This is true,"Hinata agreed, "But I think that maybe you aren't telling me something, something Naruto and Sasuke don't know either. You jumped to 'coffin' right away, ninja don't bury the dead very often."

"Shit." Sakura swore, kicking the end of her bed and immediatly regretting it as her toe started to throb, "It's not something I talk about." she was surly as she sat down at the end of her bed, refusing to look at Hinata or anthing else.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you tell me, or maybe I can help?" Hinata pressed, sitting next to the Pink-haired Jonin and placing an arm around her.

"You can't help, what is done is done, and was has past is undoable..." Sakura said, softer than before, "And if I told you, you would just look at me differently. You wouldn't want to share this room with me..." she still would not look at Hinata, and the Hyuuga girl took her former classmate's chin between thumb and fore finger and turned Sakura's head to look at her.

"Sakura, I would never think any less of you." she stated firmly, looking Sakura in the eyes with her own pale ones, "If you don't want to tell me, fine. But at least know that I will never, ever abandon you." She released Sakura's chin and the two stared into eachother's eyes for a while.

"Thank you..." Sakura murmured, before leaning in and planing a small kiss on Hinata's lips. This startled the poor Hyuuga so bad that she jumped back as if touched by an electric spark. Sakura placed her hands over her mouth, looking pained, "I'm so sorry!" she apologised through her hands, "I didn't mean... I wasn't thinking... I just..." Hinata was struck dumb by what had happened and she gently touched her lips, not saying a word. Sakura, mistaking this as a bad sign, fled from the room, unable to be stopped by Hinata.

--

A fist slammed into a nearby tree, shattering the trunk and felling the rest of it. "So _stupid_!" Sakura hissed in anger, her fists were clenched and eyes squeezed shut in frustration and anger. She absently rubbed the scrapes on her knuckles with the thumb of one hand, head tilted back to look at the sky, "She didn't want that, you shouldn't have done it!" with another fit of self hate, the pink-haired Jonin hurled her fist at another tree, only to have the wrist caught in mid swing.

"Stop," came a gentel voice, "you'll hurt yourself." It was so simply said and yet it made tears spring to Sakura's eyes and she shut them tighter still, "Why did you run away, Sakura?"

"Stop being..." Sakura sniffed, "Stop being so nice to me. Why are you being so nice to me?" She would not cry, damnnit, she promised... ever since...

_"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" a small boy, darkhaired except for a pink streak that stood out vividly in his spikey hair, knelt next to her, prying the kunai from her hands and placing his own hands in hers, "Why are you bleeding? Are you sad? Why are you sad? Do I make you sad?" at this the boy started to cry, to wail the way small children do when they're upset, "Why do I make you sad? Why aren't you answering me? Mommy, why aren't you answering me?!"_

"Sakura, why aren't you answering me?" Hinata asked, worry etched across her face clearly, she could feel Sakura's arm trembling where she still held it.

"Haruto..." was all Sakura could manage for a while as she crumpled to the ground, arm slipping from Hinata's grasp. The purple-haired Jonin hastened to put her arms around Sakura as she wept bitterly into her shoulder. "I had a son..." she gasped finally, jerking her head up to face Hinata, who listened with worry, "Haruto... and then he died... It was because I wasn't good enough... and I had to bury him... and I..." She didn't finish, but started to unwrap the arm bandages that covered her lower arms- something she hadn't worn before, but had been wearing since Hinata had first seen her return. She brandished her arms at Hinata, who backed away enough to keep from being hit and still see what Sakura was trying to show her. Scars.

"Sakura..." Hinata breathed as she realized what the scars were from and she hugged the sobbing Jonin to her again, "It wasn't because you weren't good enough, it was because you were upset and you didn't know what to do!" she insisted, it was shocking to see that Sakura- the girl who had been so sweet and so sought after by Naruto- would do herself harm, would be this miserable.

"It _is_ my fault! All my fault, I didn't take care of him and he had to take care of me! And now... now I'm here and he's in the ground near a tree in some forrest!" Hinata grabbed Sakura by the shoulders, startling her into sudden silent tears. Sakura looked up at the Hyuuga girl, feeling as though she could trust her now to keep this information from others, especially Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sakura, it's _not_ your fault. You were alone, you were scared, and you didn't know what to do. But you loved him, I can see that, and he loved you, so now all you can do is move on!" Hinata shook Sakura's shoulders gently to get her point across, "Move on, make new memories with the people around you, love again..."

Sakura looked down at the ground, biting her lip. What Hinata said made sense, it certainly made her feel better than she had in awhile. "Thank you, Hinata... I don't diserve a friend like you... Can we maybe... go back to our room... it's late..." The purple-haired Jonin nodded her head and helped Sakura to her feet. "And," Sakura added quickly, "You won't tell anyone, will you?" Hinata shook her head, a small, sad smile proving she wouldn't as she re-wrapped Sakura's arms and they walked back to the village.

**Parting Notes:** So, how was that for an angsty chapter? Yes, Sakura is a cutter. A reformed cutter, anyways. And yes Haruto IS a Japanese name, I looked it up. Well technically I found it while I was searching for a name online and here is the definition:

**HARUTO** 陽斗, 遥斗, 陽翔, 晴斗 m Japanese  
From Japanese _陽 (haru)_ "sun, sunlight", _遥 (haru)_ "distant" or _晴 (haru)_ "clear up" combined with _斗 (to)_, which refers to the constellation Ursa Major, or _翔 (to)_ "soar, fly".

And I found this name on so if you don't believe me go check it out for yourself! I'm not some closeted NaruSaku fan. Although the idea had crossed my mind once. And I'm DEFINETLY not a SasuSaku fan! That idea NEVER crossed my mind at all. Although it knda needed a kint of that so I could get the plot moving. I just had all these fresh ideas pop into my head that would work that were WAY better than my old idea for this story. So yeah. Feedback would be nice. Laterz.


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